


Things Will Be Okay

by kitausuret



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Venom (Comics)
Genre: Father Figures, Flash is basically Andi's adoptive father, Gen, Happy, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Venom/Flash if you squint, Mentor and Protégé, Mostly Canon Compliant, Philadelphia, Post-Space Knight, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 01:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitausuret/pseuds/kitausuret
Summary: Giving some love to the City of Brotherly Love! After returning to Earth, Flash Thompson and Venom have been reconnecting with their friend and protege, Andi (and Mania). A lot has changed for all of them, but one thing is for certain: Flash is glad to be home. (Set post-Venom: Space Knight and GotG vol. 4.)





	Things Will Be Okay

**Author's Note:**

> Historian’s Note: Takes place before the events of Venom #150 “Dependency Day”, perhaps right after the events of GotG #19 (AKA the finale to Bendis’ series). Assume for the sake of the story that Andi is still living in Jenkintown with her aunt, or maybe they’ve moved to Philly proper.

The cafe was busy at this time of day, especially so close to the 30th Street Station. Patrons shuffled in and out, people hauling children and briefcases and managing busy schedules. It sat near the museums and the university, so it usually attracted a good crowd even during the slow times of day. It was the rush hour, but the young woman on the other side of the counter still offered a smile as she handed off the sandwich and the cup of coffee.

The customer couldn’t have been older than thirty but he leaned on a cane with one hand and took the items with the other. He offered a sincere thank you and a smile that only just betrayed how little sleep he’d gotten the last few nights. But that’s what coffee was for.

A teenage girl behind him snagged a table with two chairs and let her backpack fall to the ground. Philadelphia wasn’t the kind of town where just multiple piercings and purple hair got you a whole lot of attention. A couple people did, however, take a second glance at the man who sat heavily across from her. His legs were artificial from about the knee down.

“I’m proud of you, Andi. I’m sure today wasn’t easy.”

She huffed and took a seat, barely waiting for him to slide the sandwich over to her before she snatched it up and tore off the paper. “Well… only ‘cause you said no more patrols if I didn’t re-enroll.”

“It’s also the law,” Flash Thompson pointed out. “And I know you’re smart as hell. Besides, your aunt would probably have an aneurysm if you two didn’t get back to some sense of normalcy.”

“Sure, normal,” she said around a mouthful of cheesesteak, “whatever that is.”

He sighed and propped his cane up against the table. He was back to using it, if only because he was wary of running into old students who knew Coach Thompson usually used a wheelchair. Besides that, he was reluctant to rely on Venom too much, given the strides he’d made as far as his physical therapy. His partner didn’t always understand - they were on Earth, after all, and not in a galaxy full of enemies who knew Klyntar weaknesses and had a sonic gun every ten feet. But it made Flash happy, and he was a man who enjoyed having a goal; having a _purpose_.

It was good to be back in Philadelphia on more positive terms. It was a nice city; friendlier than New York but almost as familiar. His symbiotic companion had been whispering (rather distractingly) in his mind that they obviously needed chocolate, but Flash had been adamantly against it. They were not spending five bucks on a dark chocolate truffle. Venom had since fallen silent.

Andi Benton, meanwhile, was in the process of devouring her sandwich with impressive gusto. Flash knew that having the symbiote meant metabolic rate changes. Even so, Andi and Mania were an… unusual pair. They’d bonded at lightning speed, though whether it was just because Mania was genetically engineered or had just latched onto Andi’s anger and grief at the time of bonding, he didn’t know. They seemed to be in a good place, though, and given all that was happened, he wasn’t looking to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still… an unusual pair, indeed.

_\- and we are not?_

He stifled a smile at that. He’d long gotten used to the sibilant voice in his subconscious, and appreciated the reminder that he was not alone; never alone.

_Yeah, buddy, I guess we are._

Flash took a drink of his coffee and let the silence stretch for a moment. He wasn’t particularly worried about anyone overhearing them, but he lowered his voice nonetheless. “I know I keep asking, but I just want to be sure. Is…”

“Yeah, Coach, we’re fine,” she interrupted. “Mania got a little scared during the whole… demonic possession thing… but we’re good now.”

“I hope it understands that-”

“We’re fine.” She tore off another juicy bite and glanced up at him. “What about you? I’m sure it’s weird being back… here.”

Here. Earth. Not up in space, swashbuckling his way across the stars between not one but two ragtag groups of heroes. Learning about himself. Learning about Venom. Learning that they still had a long ways to go.

He finally shrugged. “It is, a little.” Flash rubbed the back of his neck. “Andi, I’m still… I shouldn’t have left again after the first time the Guardians and I made that stop back here on Earth.”

“Flash, it’s fine.”

“It’s not, though.” He shook his head. “You were living in the sewers! Nobody knew where you were or what had happened.”

Andi polished off the rest of her sandwich and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah, and that sucked, but if you’d stayed, Venom would have probably re-corrupted anyways. You might not have been able to get back to Klyntar, and they wouldn’t have been able to tell you about that weird planet or what you needed to do.”

“I know, I just…” Flash tapped at his paper coffee cup. “I just wish I hadn’t had to leave you for so long to do it.”

_\- she’s right, you know_

Something must’ve given it away, because Andi immediately said, “He agrees, doesn’t he?”

“Mind your own.”

“You do that weird thing with your face when he’s talking to you.” She tilted her head and grinned, balling up the paper her sandwich had been wrapped in. “Like your eyes go unfocused. Sometimes you get a dorky smile on your face. Sometimes I wonder what he’s telling you.”

Flash cleared his throat. _Don’t you dare tell her anything,_ he warned, and swore Venom laughed in response. He tapped the foot of his right prosthetic against the floor. “Look, communication is… really important. And now that you’re both probably feeling a lot like you’re in control of yourselves, you can learn from each other better. I’ve talked to you about the relationship before. It’s balance, and partnership. It’s trust. It’s…”

He stared at his empty coffee cup, a little embarrassed. Even with her, it was strange, trying to explain all he and Venom had been through and how much it had changed them. Andi’s smile softened.

“Yeah, Flash, I think I get it. We’re learning, but we’ve got the best possible teachers for the job, right?”

\- _and we will teach them well, won’t we?_

He couldn’t help it; he smiled too wide for it to be natural. _You three are going to get me in trouble._ Flash picked up his coffee cup to hide behind it; remembered it was empty. He set it down, defeated, and hung his head in mock dismay.

Andi laughed and smacked her hand down on the table. “There it is! That’s the smile.”

“Okay, okay, can it, before people start staring.”

She quieted her laughter and just regarded him for a minute. “You seem happy, Coach. I know you said you were proud of me, but I’m proud of you, too. And yeah, I missed you, but you needed that trip. You both did. I knew you wouldn’t be gone forever.”

“Yeah, well…” He looked up with a rueful smile. “You’re worth coming back for, kid.”

And she was, absolutely. The Klyntar council had said that at the time of the cleansing, something had been missing from Venom. Someone. They hadn’t known that leaving Andi behind had been the hardest part of accepting a position with the Guardians of the Galaxy. No, he’d never regret the trip. But he’d left more than just a cloned piece of Venom behind. He’d left someone who was family.

Flash was sure as hell glad to be home again.

Just then, two cop cars screamed down the street, interrupting his reverie, and an officer’s radio squawked a couple tables away:

_“...two-one-one in progress at eighteenth and Walnut, all available units please respond...”_

Andi perked up and looked at Flash expectantly. He gave her a warning look. She mouthed, “that’s a robbery”, and started to stand. The officer had already rushed out the door, responding to the call.

He leaned forward and grabbed Andi’s wrist. “It’s the middle of the day!” he hissed.

“It’s my city, Coach.”

For a long moment, he just stared at her, and he saw a fierce determination in her eyes that was somehow more intense without the symbiote covering her face. If this was who she was… who she and Mania were together… Well, Philadelphia had its hero.

“...Go. I’ll meet you over there.”

“Don’t worry, Flash. I got this.”

As she ran off, probably planning to duck behind the building to suit up, Venom churned impatiently in his gut.

_\- aren’t we going to go help Mania?_

_I don’t think we want to arouse suspicion at this time of day. We’ll head over in a minute, and we can back her up if we need to._

Moments later, a black-and-white figure swung past the cafe and made its way east, towards the sound of sirens. She moved with a grace and speed that probably would have impressed even New York’s most famous hero. Through the window, he saw a few people point and even heard a couple of cheers. The thought made Flash’s heart swell with a strange kind of pride.

At last he stood and left a couple dollars on the table. He scooped up Andi’s forgotten backpack and his cane and headed for the door.

Yeah… Philadelphia had its hero. And he was proud as hell of her.


End file.
